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THE RUNES OF VIRGINIA THE VALA 



THE RUNES OF 
VIRGINIA THE VALA 




^^U^^:^^ 



niie Christopker PublisKing House 
Boston, Massachusetts 






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Copyright igi6 
By The Christopher PubIvIshing House 



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OIC 151916 



6)CI.A453100 



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CONTENTS 



To Thee, Mother 9 

The Ideal 10 

A Rune to Thor 11 

LOVE SONGS 

My Darling 15 

Love vSong 16 

A Message 17 

Memories 18 

Despair 19 

The Swan Song 20 

Sonnet 21 

SONGS OF THE NIGHT 

The Life of the Self 25 

The Omn ism 27 

The Vision 28 

Nepenthe 29 

A Voice from the vShadows 30 

ERDE DREAMS 

Erde's Song to Woden 33 

Doubts 34 

Despair, Song of the Earth to Friga 36 

Previ sion 37 

Fulfillment 38 

Chorus of the Valas 40 

Laurel Wreath 41 

Before the Portal 42 

Erde's Last Rune 43 



THE IDEAL 

My eyes are filled with unshed tears, 

Like Ocean depths — their depths of woe, 
Wherein are drowned the passing years. 

The years that come and go. 
Their phantoms in a cold mist rise 

Before my steps — they onward glide, 
I follow with aching heart and eyes. 

On the swift night winds I ride. 
For a fair shape hides in the veil of mist. 

And it beckons forever and aye, 
ril follow far through the night, I wist — 

I shall follow it 'till I die. 



10 



A RUNE TO THOR 

It is cold on the heights, the earth-born saith. 
The earth-born who clings to his bit of clay. 
And he leaves me to go alone on my way. 
Oh! the lonely way and the way of death. 
The way that leads to the realms of Thor, 
Where the eagle screams and the elements roar. 
Oh! the throbbing heart and the bated breath. 
And the One that can understand. Ah! me. 
Could I but touch his hand on the way I 
Perchance I may happen on him today; 
But I must not look back, enough to be. 
And Thor on the heights, with watchful eye. 
Noting with scorn my lagging step. 
On, on and on. Lo! Thor, thy cry — 
I fear not, yet I perish with cold — 
A roar, the lightning's flash I behold — 
Whose hand clasps mine and what is this place? 
Lo ! *tis Valhalla, and I see Thor's face. 



11 




LOVE SONGS 



13 



MY DARLING 

The southern moss hangs low 

Like tears that overflow. 

The night winds come and go. 

And oh ! And oh ! 

I love you so, 

My darling. 

The stars light up the skies, 
I see the pale moon rise, 
I listen for your sighs. 

And oh! And oh! 

I love you so. 

My darling. 



15 



LOVE SONG 

I think alone of thee, dear Love, 
I think of when we met, and where, 

I think of all our eyes revealed 
Meeting midway in air. 

My soul is ever with thee. Love. 

In realms mysterious and fair. 
Amidst the fields of asphodel, 

Floating in ambient air. 



16 



A MESSAGE 

If thou shouldst call. Love, 

I would hear thee, 

I would know thee, 

I would answer thee. 
No power in earth below, in heaven above, 

Could affright me. 

Could estrange me. 

Could detain me. 
Where I am — where'er thou art. 

Thou canst reach me. 

Thou canst hold me. 

Canst compel me. 
Thou who art neither thou nor me — 
I who am neither thee — nor me — 
But one body and one soul. 



17 



MEMORIES 

Alas! and shall I never see thee more. 
Nor walk with thee along life's shining shore, 
Where rainbow-tinted Hghts fall everywhere 
On beauty never seen or dreamed before? 
Oh ! where are now those perfumed hours of bliss. 
Those hours so Hke, yet so unlike, to this? 
Here is thy hand, the same, yet not the same — 
And what has changed the sweetness of thy kiss? 
Oh! yesterday, return with all thy bloom, 
Thy gardens redolent with sweet perfume; 
Return to me, the love of yester eve. 
Let me the interrupted dream resume. 



18 



DESPAIR 

Oh! sad, sad earth. 
To my heart so vainly calling! 

Oh! pale, cold moon. 
To my eyes when tears are falling. 
So sad, so still. 
So dark, so chill. 
Though I cry to the sky — 
The sound seems back to fall. 
And this is all — and this is all. 

Oh! hopeless days. 
To my heart so vainly waiting; 
Oh! long, long nights. 
With dreams of love*s creating. 
So sad, so still. 
So dark, so chill. 
Till I cry — let me die. 
The straining soul, itself doth rend. 
And thus its joy and pain doth end. 



19 



THE SWAN SONG 

I cannot live as I did live, 

I cannot live alone again; 
When thou to me thy love did'st give 

I lived ; bereft of thee — I die. 
The end hath come, my heart doth break. 

But see, I smile into thy eyes, 
A dying smile for thy dear sake, 

A song, a swan song for thy ear. 
'Tis all of Love and Life and Light, 

Of shining sands that do not slide; 
*Tis all of joys that do not blight. 

That do not end in pain. 



20 



SONNET 

So, is the life lesson learned. 

Thou who the Truth hast sought, 

TTiou who the Truth hast taught. 

Thou who the Truth hast earned. 

By sign of old creeds o'er turned. 

By sign of the self-less lot. 

By signs through the spirit wrought. 

Through Love that for loving burned. 

In loving, and loving alone — 

To reck not of joy in the giving. 

To care nevermore for receiving. 

To see evermore fair Love on her throne. 

For Love, to be living and breathing. 

Is enough for believing and living. 



21 



SONGS OF THE NIGHT 



23 



THE LIFE OF THE SELF 

Into the darkness — mad. 

All lovely, sad — 

Oh! aspiring soul. 

Restlessly seeking the all-perfect. 

Deceived and led astray awhile. 

Astray through aspiration. 

Fault of thy greatness; 

Grief-caught, involved in thine own toils. 

Led onward all unconsciously. 

Lo! thou art of the world above. 

Of the ail-patiently great. 

The full grown ones. 

Yet restlessly daring. 

Knowing no greater height 

Than that which lies in sacrifice. 

Entire and absolute; 

Rejecting all thy light. 

Dost make the downward plunge 

Into the darkness, into the swirling depths. 

Oh ! white bird of Heaven, 

Mayhap to lift one soul 

Through thy great knowledge gained 

From former pain. 

Sinking within the mire. 

Deeper and deeper down. 

Till thou dost see the lurid glare 

Of hell itself, thou, an immortal. 

Wild in the depths of Hell, 

25 



With the vile fiends screaming; 

Thou with the Saint's face. 

All lovely, sad. 

One minute, one. 

Till thou canst feel 

Those souls* great misery 

Who dw^ell therein 

Long days and nights, and 

Know it not. 

So thou canst love each one. 

Each foully faced one, 

Sister! Brother! Oh! God! 

God! the choking cry 

From heart, to throat, to lip; 

Tears rise, and the white one 

Shines forth, all-glorious. 

Tears rise, and the foul ones 

Shine forth resplendent. 

Victory ! Victory ! Victory ! 



26 



THE OMNISM 

No song but sings. 
No word but wings 

Into the Universe, 
To the heart of things. 
No sneer but stings, 
No kiss but clings 

Within the Universe 
At the heart of things. 
Here, there, everywhere. 

Are the central deeps; 
No place but God is there. 
God is Soul — awake — aware. 

Also when soul sleeps. 



27 



THE VISION 

Oh! silken glory of the brooding moon. 

Oh! wandering breath of the languid night, 
Oh! soul, arising from a death-like swoon. 

Tenuous, moth-like, in the misty light. 
Beautiful brother worker in the passing now. 

Wind blown about on your delicate wings. 
Speaking to me the word that meaneth all. 

The mystic word that chimes and sings. 
Lo! if you pass on with me or without. 

It matters not, for we will meet at last. 
And if It wills, that time is now. 

Brother, attend, for time flies fast. 

Call of the invisible. 
One, indivisible. 
Over the waste land. 
Over the marsh land. 
Under the spell, — 
Through Heaven or Hell, — 
Speedeth the Soul, — 
Straight to its goal. 
Unerring and straight. 
On to its mate. 



28 



NEPENTHE 

Dreams of Life that fall to earth, 

Close us round and grip us fast. 
Strangling true Love at his birth. 

Stupid to the last. 
Cometh One with dew-drop eyes 

Shining o'er the wold; 
Holds on high a wondrous prize. 

Richer far than gold. 
*Tis for you, O Child of Earth, 

Endeth now your quest; 
'Tis Nepenthe come to birth — 

Fold him to your breast. 



29 



A VOICE FROM THE SHADOWS 

It was night, with a glory concealed 

In its darkness, then the darkness broke 
Into light, to me all revealed. 

And the light-giver of the darkness spoke: 
Watcher, with the inner sight, 

Thou art ready when I appear; 
So I turn thy darkness to light — 

See thou and feel no fear. 
The hour hath come — no recoil 

Thou must be fearless like Death, 
So turn from the world's turmoil. 

Beyond the reach of its breath. 
Doth it tempt thee? FIl brand thee, then. 

With its sign — back to thy doom — 
Into the human drift again. 

Into its poison and spume. 
Dost renounce it? Then on and on. 

Though the Tempter threatens and whines. 
Child, thy face groweth pinched and wan — 

Yet, through it a brave smile shines. 
Fear not the blue, cold lips and brain. 
What of it? Fear and joy are the same; 
An aeon ago there became 
A God because of thy pain — 
Yes — a God because of thy pain. 



30 



ERDE DREAMS 



31 



ERDE'S SONG TO WODEN 

Thou, who on many a battlefield 

Did'st lead the Asen hosts. 
To whom the Vana hordes did yield 

On the bleak Northern coasts. 
Thou Woden, thou wilt come at last 

To claim the waiting Earth, 
The Erde of the deathless past. 

Who gave the Valkyrs birth. 
Oh ! Woden, wilt thou understand, 

And to my song reply? 
I, Erde, reach thee forth my hand. 

And Skoal! to Woden cry. 

I sing a song of Woden's might. 

Who leads me up the path of gold 
That endeth in Valhalla's height 

On Woden's shining throne. 
There shall I ever with him reign 

O'er gods of earth and sky. 
The foaming wassail bowl we'll drain 

The Skaldurs all shall sing. 
And thou, who on my darkness shone. 

Ah! thou art Woden, thou 
Who made me for a while thine own. 

Yea, thine — eternally. 



33 



DOUBTS 

And so, and so, the sad, sweet day is past. 
Black night upon me settles like a pall. 
Fainting with dread before thy throne I fall. 
Oh ! Woden, listen, for my life flies fast. 

I thought to sit with thee upon the throne 
Of proud Valhalla's realm; to rule with thee. 
And so thy Erde's heart was gay and free — 
Waiting in patience for awhile alone. 

I fancied that the twilight of the gods had past ; 
The long two thousand years was but a dream; 
It seems I erred somehow; so, now 'twould seem 
The day you smiled was all to fair to last. 

There was no turning then, my heart leaped high. 
The gods awaken Woden, was my cry — 
The twilight sinks not into night, but day; 
Into thy outstretched arms I fly. 

You sit upon your throne in state. 

I lie here with my head upon a stone 

So cold, so hard, the stone steps of your throne. 

And is this Erde's fault, or Fate? 

Yea! now I see, the gods awaken not 
'Til all the fateful Nomas end their task 
And write the answer to the rune I ask: 
**Shall Friga rule Valhall, or mine the lot?" 

34 



If Friga share thy throne, then Erde rules the earth. 
For Erde is the earth, here banished from thy sight 
She spreads o*er gods and men the pall of night 
'Til to the last Valkyrie she gives birth. 



35 



DESPAIR 

SONG OF THE EARTH TO FRIGA 

Ah ! woe is me. Ah ! woe for I am lost ; 

A lone star drifting through the Universe — 

BHndly I stumble on, without a goal; 

I did not dream how much a kiss would cost! 

I did not dream so sweet a thing could curse 

And for all time annihilate a soul. 

I wander on and on, where star drift flies. 
It blinds my aching eyes, it chokes my breath. 
Prostrate, through endless space, I downward fall. 
What dreams ! doth Hell breed dreams of Paradise, 
Bright dreams of glory leading me to Death? 
Ah! could I so end earth, and curse, and all. 

Lo! I do spurn Thee, and thy punishment! 

Thou that makest me to wander forth alone. 

Because of one short kiss and sweet — 

So sweet, so dear, I never can repent ; 

So, though my lips are making moan. 

Give them the chance they will the sin repeat. 



36 



PREVISION 

They call her Earth, the grieving Mother Earth, 

But Woden called her Erde, his dear mate. 

For her he left great Frig upon her throne. 

For Erde's sake he left his high estate. 

And then the curse of death fell on the land. 

The twilight of the gods, that Thor foretold 

Would last two thousand dreary years. 

This prophecy ye knew, but one, unknown. 

Was made by Woden, when the great blight fell. 

This told he her, Erde, his dear mate. 

That so through her the withering curse would pass. 

Through her made manifest in Vala form — 

A Valkyr fairer than the Valkyrs all. 

Than great Brunhilda, greater would she be. 

So, with this comfort, sadly left he her 

To keep her world 'till he should come. 

And now know this, the time has come. 

For Woden have I seen with these mine eyes. 

Be sure All Father's word shall come to pass. 

When we great Erde-garde's birth shall see — 

When the gods awake and the earthlings rise 

With Erde to Valhalla's height. 

With Erde-garde the Valkyr glorified. 



37 



FULFILLMENT 

Do you remember how, when mighty Thor 

Did warn King Olaf? How he was to die 

Because he had been false to all the gods. 

And how, when Olaf would not hear, the curse 

Did fall on him as Thor foretold? 

So Olaf fell, by an assassin's hand. 

Then though the great king died, the dread curse 

stayed 
So all the earth was cursed and all thereon. 
And this age was the twilight of the gods 
Because the gods in high Valhalla were so sad 
Grieving for all the misery on earth: 
But all this had to be, until this day — 
*Til one was born to love the ancient gods : 
A grave Alruna woman, singing runes 
To wake the people to the ancient faith, 
'Til Thor and Woden come with Frig and Sif: 
With Baldur Idun, Nanna and the rest. 
The glorious throng that in Valhalla reigns, 
TTiough sorrowing these two thousand years. 
Neglected, scorned, all these two thousand years; 
Thou, Woden, came to teach the people truth 
When thou from Asgard led thy people hence. 
Thou didst remind them of great Bor 
And Belsta, parents of our race. 
And of the one who did create 
Great Bor and Belsta, thee, and thine — 
Aye! thou didst teach them of the One, 

38 



The unnamed One ; that One we did forget 

And all the heroes of our Asa race 

Who our chaste Vala's were, who, our Alrunas 

were — 
These, our fore-mothers, all forgot. 
Forgotten? No! I raise again the cry: 
Skoal to Valhalla, Skoal and Skoal ! 
And far upon the snow-crowned height 
I see a glory — azure, rose and gold. 
And in my heart, I know the curse is spent. 
And soon great Erde's children shall awake 
To hail the consummation of the gods. 
Portentious, satisfying, all fulfilling Truth 
That I have prayed for these two thousand years: 
I, Erde, raise aloft the wassail bowl; 
Come my Valkyries — Erdgarde, thou 
My last and dearest Valkyr; come. 
And cry thee, "Skoal, to Woden Skoal — 
To Asgard Skoal." 



39 



CHORUS OF THE VALAS 

All Hail! Erde divine! 

Mother of the Valkyrien! 

From thy bosom of mystery. 
From thy love's profundity, 
From thy glory of Infinity, 

Thou, Goddess of the Einherien 

Doth come thy will and mine. 

Free is my will as such: 

As being — thine alone — 

Fiat mother born — 

From thy dark womb torn. 

(So saith the Asa-norn.) 

Striketh the fateful tone 

With satisfying touch. 

Nomas ! thy vision wide 

Doth still my dark unrest: 

Mother of earth and sky 
Thy glory blinds mine eye — 
With Truth's finality 

I sink into thy breast 

Not lost, but deified. 



40 



LAUREL WREATH 

Sonnet 
(Erde to Woden) 

As Sappho loved, — my love I now declare. 

As Baldur by his Nanna was adored, 

*Til she in Hela was to him restored. 

As Dante and as Petrarch once did bear. 

To Beatrice and Laura, love so rare. 

So spirit pure, that unto Heaven it soared; 

While yearning Earth in vain her loss deplored. 

So, — love I thee, such love alone I dare — 

To offer thee, who, on Valhalla's throne. 

Doth wear the double crown of ash and bay. 

Thou! Woden, hail! Thy sovereign voice alone 

The twilight of the gods shall clear away. 

Yea, thou on Asgard's height may claim thine 

own. 
Now, Skoal to Woden! Erde sings today. 



41 



BEFORE THE PORTAL 

Oh! blessed Portal, strong and high. 
Waiting through night and day. 
Watching for Woden's haughty eye. 
Waiting to hear my heart's low cry 
When he doth pass this way. 

My soul, O Portal, leave I here 
And it shall surely be 
When mighty Woden doth appear. 
A sigh shall fall upon his ear — 
His heart my face shall see. 

For me his longing eye shall seek- 
Yes, as when first we met: 
No more my voice, so low and meek 
But loud within his soul shall speak. 
And he shall not forget. 

And one day cometh on apace 
When in this purpling shade 
ril meet great Woden face to face; 
Shall stand before him and embrace. 
Laughing and unfraid. 

And I shall walk by Woden's side 
And the whole world shall see 
Great Erd< exult in all her pride — 
For I am Erde, Woden's bride. 
And Erde's spouse is he. 
42 



ERDE*S LAST RUNE 

I, Erde, am awake — 

Mine hour is come; 
And my wassails make 

Valhall resound. 

Woden, mj^ dreams were mad; 

Woden, forgive. 
Thy Friga*s heart was sad 

In the Earth-dream. 

Frig* dreamed TTiee faithless. 

And Erd , thy mate 
Dreamed ye passed, scathless. 

Thou and thy mate. 

Awhile, yea, awhile. Thou 

Under my spell 
Made Thee a dream vow 

Erde to win. 

Erde, thy Earth mate 

A mother seemed. 
So seemed ye to create 

The Valkyr's nine. 

Ho, what a dream was mine 

Knowing it not; 
Yea, and my dream was thine: 

We being One. 



43 



Then Thy strength broke the spell. 

My love helping; 
Breaking the bonds of Hel, 

Baldur ariseth. 

Now joy fills all Valhall; 

Death is no more; 
Loke shall drink his gall, 

And end his reign. 

Once more the wassail bowl. 

Fill we with mead; 
The Skull yields up its soul. 

In self-lessness. 

Drink Vikings, Valkyries brave! 

Drink to the Dawn. 
Life riseth from the grave. 

The Gotter-damerung. 



44 



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